In a mindless act of brutality, a man cut off his wife's tongue and slashed the tendon of her left leg for Tk 5 lakh dowry in Sylhet on Thursday.
The victim, Suma Begum, 26, daughter of late Abdul Ali of Paschim Dorsha village in Sadar upazila, is undergoing treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital. She was yet to regain consciousness as of filing of this report at 9:00pm.
Doctors said her condition was stable.
Her husband, Belal Ahmed, and her in-laws have been torturing her for dowry since their marriage in 2008, alleged the victim's brother Hafizur Rahman.
Unable to bear the torture, Suma returned to her mother's house many times, he said.
Belal, son of late Ismat Ali of Lamua village in South Surma upazila, works at a garage in Sylhet city.
Hafizur said his family had given money to Belal on several occasions. A few months ago, Belal demanded Tk 5 lakh from Suma and kept pressing her for the money.
As the severity of torture increased, Suma left her husband's home again a few months ago.
On Thursday evening, Belal and his friends went to meet Suma at her mother's house. At one point, they asked her to go out with them. They took her to a nearby barn, tied her hands with ropes and cut her tongue so that she cannot scream. Then they slashed the tendon of her left leg, Hafizur said.
They also tried to slit the tendon of her right leg but failed as Suma's mother came out of the house and started calling out her name. The criminals then fled.
As Suma groaned in pain, her mother spotted her. Later, the family took her to the hospital.
An operation was conducted on Suma that night and she was given five bags of blood, Hafizur said.
Hafizur filed a case with Jalalabad Police Station against Belal, his family members and some unknown people on Friday night.
Belal is on the run.
Police arrested Belal's mother Joybunnesa yesterday.
Akhter Hossain, officer-in-charge of the station, said they were shocked to see such brutality. “We are trying to arrest the key accused, Belal,” he added.